Method for structuring an expert system utilizing one or more polynomial processors

ABSTRACT

Polynomial processors learn expert system rules, for either business or real-time applications, to improve the robustness and speed of execution of the expert system. One or more polynomial processors are constructed which incorporate the production rules of one or more expert systems. Each polynomial processor is constructed of computing elements or neuron circuits each having only one significant processing element in the form of a multiplier. Each polynomial processor utilizes a training algorithm which does not require repetitive training and which yields a global minimum to each given set of input vectors.

RELATED INVENTIONS

The present invention is a continuation-in-part of the following inventions that are assigned to the same assignee as the present invention:

"Method for Structuring an Expert System Utilizing One or More Neural Networks", having Ser. No. 08/129,275, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,890, filed Sep. 30, 1993; and

"Method for Converting an Existing Expert System into One or More Neural Networks", having Ser. No. 08/129,823, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,527, filed Sep. 30, 1993.

RELATED INVENTIONS

The present invention is a continuation-in-part of the following inventions that are assigned to the same assignee as the present invention:

"Method for Structuring an Expert System Utilizing One or More Neural Networks", having Ser. No. 08/129,275, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,890, filed Sep. 30, 1993; and

"Method for Converting an Existing Expert System into One or More Neural Networks", having Ser. No. 08/129,823, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,527, filed Sep. 30, 1993.

The present invention is related to the following inventions which are assigned to the same assignee as the present invention:

(1) "Neural Network and Method of Using Same", having Ser. No. 08/076,601, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,667, filed Jun. 14, 1993; and

(2) "Computer processor utilizing logarithmic conversion and method of use thereof" having Ser. No. 08/403,158, filed Mar. 13, 1995.

The subject matter of the above-identified related inventions is hereby incorporated by reference hereto into the disclosure of this invention.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to expert systems and, in particular, to methods and systems for implementing an expert system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, expert systems have been used in many applications which have traditionally been carried out using complex algorithmic approaches. These applications include medical diagnosis, financial analysis, electronics design, nuclear power plant monitoring and control, oil exploration, etc. Expert systems have also been used for interpretation, prediction, planning, monitoring, debugging, repair, and instruction. The surge in popularity of expert systems is mainly due to their simplicity in modeling complicated systems by Production Rules (i.e. IF/THEN rules) and to their capability in recommending appropriate actions by inference (or search).

A second known method of handling applications of the type mentioned above utilizes so-called "fuzzy logic", which makes use of fuzzy sets and fuzzy relational equations. In fuzzy set theory, quantifiers such as "for many" and "for a few" are used to relate elements of different sets. Fuzzy set theory, then, is useful in those situations in which data and relationships cannot be written in crisp mathematical terms. Simplicity and speed of design are two major advantages of fuzzy systems. Once an engineer has defined the variables and fuzzy sets, using intuition and experience, the design of a fuzzy logic control system prototype can be completed in a relatively short time.

A third known method of handling the above types of applications uses conventional artificial neural networks. An artificial neural network can be considered as a network of neuron-like units operating on data "all-at-once" rather than "step-by-step" as in a conventional computation. With neural networks, the problem of control can often be viewed as a pattern-recognition problem, wherein the patterns to be recognized are mappings of measured signals for "change" into calculated controls for "action". The ability to learn from experience to provide ever-improving performance is an advantage in using artificial neural networks for implementation of an intelligent controller. However, known artificial neural networks suffer from several significant problems, including the necessity for lengthy repetitive training of the networks, the fact that only local minimum solutions are generated, and the need for using trial and error techniques in structuring the number of neurons and layers of neurons in the network.

As will be seen, the present invention offers a unified approach which combines the best features of the above three techniques. But first let us review some of the characteristics of expert systems.

FIG. 1 shows a conceptual diagram illustrating a conventional expert system 1 which comprises two modules. A first module 2 is a Knowledge Base, which comprises a group of Production Rules (which typically are IF/THEN statements) and Facts. A second module 3 is an Inference Engine which makes decisions using the Production Rules and the given Facts. The expert system receives Inputs and generates Outputs using the Knowledge Base 2 and Inference Engine 3.

To date, however, the success of known expert systems has been somewhat diminished because of the following reasons:

First, known expert systems are too "brittle" for real-world applications which are noisy and uncertain. Specifically, the performance of an expert system rapidly degrades when the value of an Input is close to the Input bounds, as is illustrated by FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 shows a graph illustrating the brittleness of a conventional expert system. For example, if an Input x has a specific value x₁, when we apply the following Production Rules the Output value y will be zero:

    IF x is in set A (lying between x.sub.2 and x.sub.3), THEN y is 1.

    IF x is not in set A, THEN y is 0.

Clearly, such brittleness is inappropriate for many applications (e.g. stock market investment, medical diagnosis, etc.). Although it is known to improve the robustness of an expert system by increasing the number of Production Rules, this slows down the decision-making process and aggravates maintenance problems (due to the sheer number of Production Rules to be kept track of).

Secondly, existing expert systems are usually too slow in decision-making for high-speed dynamic systems. This is because the Inference Engine needs to match the Facts to the Production Rules to make a decision. This pattern search can be very exhaustive, repetitive, and extremely time-consuming. This is illustrated, for example, in the extensive backward and/or forward chaining operations required, as discussed in Guide to Expert Systems, Donald A. Waterman, Edison-Wesley, 1986, Chapter 7, pages 66-69. An example of forward-chaining is shown in FIGS. 3-7 described below.

FIG. 3 shows a conceptual diagram of a Knowledge Base for a conventional expert system. This example of a Knowledge Base has two Production Rules and a set of Facts comprising x₁, x₂, and x₃ representing the Inputs of the expert system. An Inference Engine (e.g. Inference Engine 3, FIG. 1) checks to see whether a given Rule is true by matching the set of Facts with the premise of such Rule. By "premise" is meant the clause immediately following the "IF" statement of the Production Rule. The "conclusion" is the clause immediately following the "THEN" statement.

First, still referring to FIG. 3, the Inference Engine checks to see whether Rule 1 is true by matching the given set of Facts with the premise of Rule 1. However, Rule 1 is not matched, because the Facts do not match its premise, since the Facts don't include z₁.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the Inference Engine checks to see whether Rule 2 is true by matching the given set of Facts with the premise of Rule 2. Rule 2 is matched, because the Facts include x₁ and x₂. Because Rule 2 is fired, the set of Facts will now include z₁, as shown in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, the Inference Engine checks to see whether Rule 1 is true by matching the set of Facts with the premise of Rule 1. Rule 1 is matched, because the set of Facts includes z₁ and x₃. Thus the expert system has made a decision (y is true), so that the set of Facts will include y from now on, as shown by FIG. 7.

The foregoing example of an Inference Engine illustrates the known technique of forward-chaining, which is very slow, because it is necessary to check all the rules. It will be appreciated that the known technique of backward-chaining is more efficient but involves a more complicated Inference Engine.

Because known expert systems are both brittle and relatively slow, they are rarely used in real-time applications.

Therefore, there is a substantial need for an expert system that is both robust enough and fast enough to handle a wide spectrum of business and real-time applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. However, other features of the invention will become more apparent and the invention will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a conceptual diagram illustrating a conventional expert system.

FIG. 2 shows a graph illustrating the brittleness of a conventional expert system.

FIGS. 3-7 show a series of conceptual diagrams of how a conventional expert system operates.

In particular, FIG. 3 shows a conceptual diagram of a Knowledge Base for a conventional expert system, wherein an inference Engine checks to see whether a first rule is true or not.

FIG. 4 shows a conceptual diagram of such Knowledge Base, wherein an Inference Engine checks to see whether a second rule is true or not.

FIG. 5 shows a conceptual diagram of such Knowledge Base, wherein z₁ has been added to the Knowledge Base.

FIG. 6 shows a conceptual diagram of such Knowledge Base, wherein an Inference Engine checks to see whether a first rule is true or not.

FIG. 7 shows a conceptual diagram of such Knowledge Base, wherein y has been added to the Knowledge Base.

FIG. 8 shows a conceptual diagram illustrating how groups of Production Rules, or subsystems, are used to provide an expert system utilizing polynomial processors, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a table illustrating the Production Rules for subsystem 11 in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 shows quantified values for the table shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 shows a table illustrating the Production Rules for subsystem 12 in FIG. 8.

FIG. 12 shows quantified values for the table shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 shows a table illustrating the Production Rules for subsystem 13 in FIG. 8.

FIG. 14 shows quantified values for the table shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 shows a conceptual diagram of the normalization of an Input value x' to a normalized value x having a value between -1 and +1.

FIG. 16 shows Production Rules in table form for a process control problem.

FIG. 17 shows quantified values for the table shown in FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 shows an example of interpolation of the Outputs from a polynomial processor.

FIG. 19 shows a conceptual diagram of a polynomial processor for performing an expert system computation in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 20 shows a conceptual diagram of the decoding of a normalized Output value y' to an actual value y.

FIG. 21 shows a flow diagram of a method for learning Production Rules of an expert system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 22 shows a flow diagram of a method for structuring an expert system incorporating a polynomial processor in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 23 shows a flow diagram of a method for converting an existing expert system into an expert system having one or more polynomial processors in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention represents a combination of expert system, fuzzy logic, and polynomial processor technologies.

A polynomial processor first learns a group of given Production Rules and then produces one or more interpolated Outputs, either in real-time applications or non-time-critical applications. Groups of Production Rules may be linked together to form an expert system comprising a polynomial processor for each group of Production rules. Each polynomial processor utilizes a training algorithm which does not require repetitive training and which yields a global minimum to each given set of Input variables.

In the expert system of the present invention, each polynomial processor, which learns a group of Production Rules for defuzzification, produces excellent interpolated Output, thereby significantly enhancing the robustness of the expert system.

Thus it is an advantage of the present invention to provide a method for structuring an expert system incorporating one or more polynomial processors. The polynomial processors may be implemented either in software or hardware.

It is likewise an advantage of the present invention to provide a method which uses a polynomial processor to learn a group of Production Rules of an expert system.

It is additionally an advantage of the present invention to provide a method for structuring and utilizing an expert system which produces exact and/or interpolated outputs from a given set of inputs.

It is also an advantage of the present invention to provide an expert system having a polynomial processor which implicitly processes a plurality of Production Rules in parallel.

It is another advantage of the present invention to provide an expert system that is very robust.

It is also an advantage of the present invention to provide an expert system that is extremely easy to tune, because it normally has only one variable to tune.

It is a further advantage of the present invention to provide an expert system that can control a large/complex system by massive parallel processing.

In one embodiment of the present invention there is provided a method for learning Production Rules of an expert system.

In another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a method for structuring an expert system incorporating at least one polynomial processor.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for learning production rules of an expert system comprising the steps of: (a) defining a plurality of inputs and outputs for the expert system; (b) defining at least one group of production rules by relating, for the at least one group, one of the outputs to one or more of the inputs in a certain manner; (c) defining a polynomial processor, for the at least one group of production rules, comprising a plurality of neurons; and (d) computing the weights of the polynomial processor.

FIG. 8 shows a conceptual diagram illustrating how groups of Production Rules, each group constituting a subsystem, are used to provide an expert system utilizing one or more polynomial processors, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Expert system 10 comprises three subsystems 11-13. Each subsystem 11-13 comprises a group of Production Rules that links the given Inputs to the desired Outputs.

In addition, the three subsystems 11-13 are linked together, forming the expert system.

A first subsystem 11 receives a set of three Inputs x₁ -x₃ and generates one Output z₁. A second subsystem 12 also has three Inputs x₄ -x₆ and generates an Output y₂. A third subsystem 13 receives two Inputs, z₁ and x₄, and generates an Output y₁. It should be noted that Inputs x₁ -x₆ to expert system 10 are external Inputs, and that y₁ and y₂ are external Outputs of expert system 10.

FIG. 9 shows a table illustrating the Production Rules for subsystem 11 in FIG. 8. In FIG. 9 the expressions PL, PM, ZO, NM, and NL represent an arbitrary set of N possible values for a given Input or Output. In FIG. 9, N is chosen to be five, so there are five possible values for a given Input or Output, represented by the values PL, PM, ZO, NM, and NL. It will be understood that there may be more or less than five possible values for a given Input or Output, depending upon the particular application.

In FIG. 9, NL represents a "negative large" value with respect to normal values of the variables; NS is a "negative small" value; ZO is a zero value; PS is a "positive small" value; and PL is a "positive large" value.

There are n₁ Production Rules or Examples shown in FIG. 9. For example, the first Example is

    IF x.sub.1 =PL, x.sub.2 =ZO, x.sub.3 =NL, THEN z.sub.1 =PL.

FIG. 10 shows quantified values for the table shown in FIG. 9. For example, PL=+1, PM=+0.5, ZO=0, NM=-0.5, and NL=-1.0.

In similar fashion, FIG. 11 shows a table illustrating the Production Rules or Examples for subsystem 12 in FIG. 8, and FIG. 13 shows a table illustrating the Production Rules or Examples for subsystem 13 in FIG. 8.

Likewise, FIG. 12 shows quantified values for the table shown in FIG. 11, and FIG. 14 shows quantified values for the table shown in FIG. 13.

It will be appreciated that, regarding the Production Rules, any desired logical relationships may be employed to express the relationships between the Inputs and Outputs.

Regarding FIGS. 10, 12, and 14, the general process of transformation from x' to x (which=f(x')) may be referred to as normalization, meaning that the absolute value of x is between 0 and 1.

FIG. 15 shows a conceptual diagram of the normalization of an Input value x' to a normalized value x having a value between -1 and +1. The normalization is performed by appropriate, well-known means 20.

It will be understood, for example, regarding the Inputs x_(i) shown in FIG. 8, that if such Inputs need to be normalized, normalization will be carried out by suitable means. In a preferred embodiment the function f(x') is a straight line given by

    x=f(x')                                                    Equation 1

    x=ax'+b                                                    Equation 2

wherein |x|≦1 in a preferred embodiment. It will be understood that |x| may be greater than 1 in other implementations.

It will also be understood that normalization is a general process which is recommended but may not be required for special cases.

While in a preferred embodiment, the function f(x') is continuous, it will be understood that discontinuous functions may also be used.

Operation of Preferred Embodiment

In the present invention, for a given subsystem or group of Production Rules the generation of Outputs from Inputs is a three-stage process: (1) normalizing Inputs as described with reference to FIG. 15, (2) training the polynomial processor, and (3) computing the interpolated Outputs from the polynomial processor associated with such subsystem.

This three-stage process will be explained below.

Normalization of Inputs

FIG. 16 shows Production Rules in table form for a process control problem. This problem has two Inputs and one Output. For two given variables x₁ and x₂, the desired Output response y is illustrated by the table of FIG. 16.

In FIG. 16, NL represents a "negative large" value with respect to normal values of the variables x₁ and x₂ about their respective average, mean, or other selected centerpoint values; NS is a "negative small" value; ZO is a zero value; PS is a "positive small" value; and PL is a "positive large" value.

This table represents twenty-five Production Rules. For example, with reference to the upper left-hand corner of FIG. 16 the corresponding Production Rule is:

    IF x.sub.1 =NL AND x.sub.2 =NL, THEN y=PL                  Equation 3

And so on. The Production Rules are derived from the practitioner's experience and/or knowledge about the problem to be solved. It will be understood that while it may be advantageous to utilize Production Rules to tackle a problem, it should be noted that Production Rules for an expert system are often very brittle (i.e. the Output cannot be interpolated but must be a specified value). Increasing the number of Production Rules improves the robustness of the expert system at the cost of computational complexity and maintenance difficulty.

FIG. 17 shows quantified values for FIG. 16. The variable x₁ is a continuous function of x₁ '. For example, x₁ is f(x₁ '), as shown in FIG. 8. The same holds true for the relationship between x₂ and x₂ ', it being understood that different functions may apply to x₁ and x₂, respectively.

For the Input variables x₁ and x₂ we choose values for PL, PS, ZO, NS, and NL between -1 and +1. In this application, we choose PL=+1.0; PS=+0.5; ZO=0; NS=-0.5; and NL=-1.0. It will be understood that other appropriate values may be chosen for PL (e.g. +0.98 or +0.95), PS (e.g. +0.51 or +0.48), ZO, NS, and NL, and that there may be more or less than five possible values for a given input or output variable.

For the desired Output response y we choose PL=+1.0; PS=+0.5; ZO=0; NS=-0.5; and NL=-1.0. It will be understood that in this case the output response y has been normalized, using a process similar to that described regarding the normalization of input values, so that it can be fed as an input variable into another subsystem also employing a polynomial processor, but that in the general case the output of the polynomial processor does not have to be normalized.

The twenty-five Production Rules in FIG. 17 are now quantified. For example, by substituting values of NL for x₁, and NL for x₂, and PL for y in Equation 3, we get:

    IF x.sub.1 =-1 AND x.sub.2 =-1, THEN y=+1                  Equation 4

Of course, these values may be tuned, depending upon the application.

Training the Polynomial Processor

Training the polynomial processor associated with a given subsystem or group of Production Rules comprises two steps: (1) defining the number of neurons in the polynomial processor to be less than or equal to the number of Production Rules of such subsystem, although it will be understood that the present invention may be implemented with a greater number of neurons than the number of Production Rules in the relevant subsystem; (2) computing the weights of the polynomial processor, in the manner referred to in Related Invention No. 1.

After training has been completed, the polynomial processor is ready for implementation.

Interpolation of Outputs

FIG. 18 shows an example of interpolating the Outputs from a given polynomial processor. In FIG. 18, each intersection, e.g. intersection 61, 62, 63, or 64, represents an "example" (i.e. an Input/Output set, such as x₁ =-0.5, x₂ =+0.5, y=0 in FIG. 17).

If the Input values x₁ and x₂ are equal to the Input values of one of the twenty-five examples, the Output y of the polynomial processor will be identical or very close to the Output in the example. For instance if x₁ =-0.5 and x₂ =+0.5, then the polynomial processor Output y will be identical or very close to 0.

If the Input values x₁ and x₂ are midway between examples 61 and 62 (i.e. at point 65), the Output y of the polynomial processor will be identical or very close to the average of the Outputs corresponding to examples 61 and 62. For instance if x₁ =-0.25 and x₂ =+0.5, then the polynomial processor Output y will be identical or very close to (0+(-0.5))/2=-0.25

Likewise, if the Input values x₁ and x₂ are at the center of examples 61-64 (i.e. at point 66), the Output y of the polynomial processor will be identical or very close to the average of the Outputs corresponding to examples 61-64. For instance if x₁ =-0.25 and x₂ =+0.75, then the polynomial processor Output y will be identical or very close to (0+(-0.5)+(-0.5)+(-1.0))/4=-0.5.

Thus the polynomial processor produces either an actual Output or an interpolated Output for a given set of Input values.

Implementation of an Expert System Utilizing a Polynomial Processor

In a preferred embodiment, there are two steps for computing or interpolating the Outputs: (1) normalizing the Inputs; and (2) generating the Outputs by providing the normalized Inputs to the polynomial processor.

For details concerning the computation of Outputs, refer to Related Invention No. 1 and the following description.

Preferred Embodiment of Polynomial Processor

FIG. 19 shows a conceptual diagram of a polynomial processor for performing an expert system computation in accordance with the present invention. In this embodiment of the present invention, the polynomial processor is implemented using an artificial neural network-like configuration comprising a plurality of neuron circuits that, in effect, are separate computational elements. In this fashion, the polynomial processor uses parallel computing to calculate a polynomial output as a function of a plurality of inputs. More particularly, this embodiment of the present invention uses separate computing elements to calculate the individual terms of the polynomial function substantially in parallel.

A plurality of Inputs x₁, x₂, . . . , x_(n) are fed to Input nodes 101, 102, . . . , 104 of the Input Layer. The Output of each input node 101, 102, and 104 in the Input Layer is coupled to each neuron circuit of the Hidden Layer (of which only neuron circuits N₁, N₂, N₃, N_(n+1), N_(n+2), N_(2n+1), and N_(N) are shown). For example, the Output of input node 101 is coupled to each of neuron circuits N₁, N₂, N₃, N_(n+1), N_(n+2), N_(2n+1), and N_(N), and to all other neuron circuits (not shown) in the Hidden Layer.

The same connections are made regarding the Outputs of input nodes 102, 104, and all other input nodes (not shown) in the Input Layer.

As described in Related Invention No. 1, the gated Inputs are first produced by the neuron circuit and then multiplied by the multiplier of the neuron circuit to produce the neuron Outputs.

The Outputs of neuron circuits N₁, N₂, N₃, N_(n+1), N_(n+2), N_(2n+1), and N_(N) are summed by summing circuit 110 to produce a polynomial processor Output y.

As further explained in Related Invention No. 1, the operation of a polynomial processor of the type employed in the present invention is based upon the use of a polynomial expansion and, in a loose sense, the use of an orthogonal function, such as sine, cosine, exponential/logarithmic, Fourier transformation, Legendre polynomial, radial basis function, or the like, or a combination of polynomial expansion and orthogonal functions.

A preferred embodiment employs a polynomial expansion of which the general case is represented by Equation 5 as follows: ##EQU1## wherein x_(i) represent the polynomial processor Inputs and can be a function such as x_(i) =f_(i) (z_(j)), wherein z_(j) is any arbitrary variable, and wherein the indices i and j may be any positive integers; wherein y represents the Output of the polynomial processor; wherein w_(i-1) represent the weight for the ith neuron; wherein g_(1i), . . . , g_(ni) represent gating functions for the ith neuron and are integers, being 0 or greater in a preferred embodiment; and n is the number of polynomial processor Inputs. It will be understood that for practical applications of this polynomial processor i will be a finite number and can be determined from the number of "examples", in the manner described in Invention No. 1 referenced above.

Each term of Equation 5 expresses a neuron Output and the weight and gating functions associated with such neuron. The number of terms of the polynomial expansion to be used in a polynomial processor is based upon a number of factors, including the number of available neurons, the number of training examples, etc. Equation 5 may be expressed alternatively, as disclosed in Related Invention No. 1.

Each term of Equation 5 is produced by the Output of a neuron or neuron circuit. With regard to FIG. 19, for example, neuron circuit N₁ produces the term w₀. Neuron circuit N₂ produces the term w₁ x₁. And so on.

In using a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the number of neuron circuits of the polynomial processor is selected to be equal or less than the number of examples presented to the polynomial processor. An "example" is defined as one set of given Inputs and resulting Outputs.

For the polynomial processor to be useful, the weight of each neuron circuit must be determined. This can be accomplished by the use of an appropriate training algorithm, as described in Related Invention No. 1.

While FIG. 19 shows only one summing circuit in the Output Layer, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill that two or more summing circuits may be used if a particular expert system application requires multiple Outputs.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the polynomial processor can be more particularly implemented using the teachings of Related Invention no. 2.

Decoding of Expert System Outputs

As described above regarding FIG. 8, the values of the Outputs of the subsystems represented by polynomial processors are between +1 and -1. Therefore, they may need to be decoded to represent their actual values.

FIG. 20 shows a conceptual diagram of the decoding of a normalized Output value y_(i) ' to an actual value y_(i) by suitable decoding formula 120.

It will be understood, for example, regarding the Outputs y_(i) shown in FIG. 8, that if such Outputs need to be normalized, normalization will be carried out by suitable means. It will be appreciated that normalization will not be required in every case.

In a preferred embodiment the actual Output y is computed by the following equation:

    y=ay'+b                                                    Equation 6

While the above is a linear equation between y and y', it will be understood that non-linear relationships between y and y' may be used.

It will be appreciated that an existing expert system comprises a large bundle of Production Rules. Through the method of the present invention, these rules are orderly grouped into a plurality of subsystems, each of which is governed by a selected group of the given Production Rules, which may be expressed by "IF/THEN" rules, or a table providing the relationship between inputs and outputs, or the like. Using the above-described method, each subsystem, as illustrated for example in FIG. 8, can be represented by a polynomial processor of the type shown in FIG. 19. The Production Rules for each subsystem are expressed by a polynomial expansion (e.g. Equation 5), and at least one output, which may be an interpolated output, is computed from the polynomial expansion by substituting at least one input into the polynomial expansion and solving as explained above.

Description of Flowcharts

FIG. 21 shows a flow diagram of a method for learning Production Rules of an expert system in accordance with the present invention. First, referring to box 141, the Inputs and Outputs are defined for the expert system.

Next, in box 143 the Inputs are normalized. The Outputs may also be normalized, if appropriate (e.g. if an Output is an internal Output which will be fed to another polynomial processor).

Next, in box 145 each Input is classified into one of a number of N values, N being a positive integer. In the example shown in FIG. 16 above, each Input was classified into one of five values.

Next, in box 147 a plurality of groups of Production Rules are defined by relating, for each of such groups, one of the Outputs to one or more of the Inputs in a certain manner.

Next, in box 149 a polynomial processor is defined for each group of Production Rules by expressing the rules in the form of a polynomial expansion.

Next, in box 151 the weights of each polynomial processor are computed.

Finally, in box 153 at least one Output is computed from at least one polynomial processor by substituting at least one Input into the corresponding polynomial expansion. The Output may be either an exact value or an interpolated value.

FIG. 22 shows a flow diagram of a method for structuring an expert system incorporating a polynomial processor in accordance with the present invention. First, referring to box 161, a plurality of subsystems are defined for a problem. Each subsystem has at least one Input and at least one Output.

Next, in box 163 the Inputs are normalized. The Outputs may also be normalized, if appropriate (e.g. if an Output is an internal Output which will be fed to another polynomial processor).

Next, in box 165 a group of Production Rules is defined for each subsystem by relating at least one Output to at least one Input.

Next, in box 167 the subsystems are linked together into an expert system.

Next, in box 169 a polynomial processor is defined for each group of Production Rules by expressing the rules in the form of a polynomial expansion.

Next, in box 171 the weights of each polynomial processor are computed.

Finally, in box 173 at least one Output is computed from at least one polynomial processor by substituting at least one Input into the corresponding polynomial expansion. The Output may be either an exact value or an interpolated value.

FIG. 23 shows a flow diagram of a method for converting an existing expert system into an expert system having one or more polynomial processors in accordance with the present invention. First, referring to box 221, the knowledge base of the existing expert system is separated from its inference engine. Usually they are already separate, in that the knowledge base is provided in the form of a data file, while the inference engine is provided in the form of logic.

Next, in box 223 the external Inputs and Outputs of the existing expert system are identified. Normally whether Inputs and Outputs are external or internal can be explicitly determined by inspection of the Production Rules.

Next, in box 225 the internal Inputs and internal Outputs of the existing expert system are identified, using the guidelines given earlier.

Next, in box 227 related Inputs and Outputs are grouped. Each group of related Inputs and Outputs corresponds to a related subsystem of the existing expert system. For example, regarding FIG. 8, it can be readily determined that external Inputs x₁, x₂ and x₃ and internal Output z₁ are related, since Output z₁ is dependent upon Inputs x₁, x₂ and x₃ according to the Production Rules for the existing expert system. Thus external Inputs x₁, x₂ and x₃ and internal Output z₁ are represented by a subsystem.

Next, in box 229 the temporal or logical relationship between each subsystem is determined. This can be readily determined from the previously identified internal and external Inputs and Outputs. For example, regarding subsystems 11 and 13 in FIG. 8, subsystem 11 must be calculated before subsystem 13 because internal Output z₁ from subsystem 11 is an Input to subsystem 13.

Next, in box 231 the Production Rules that pertain to each subsystem are identified.

Next, in box 233 a polynomial processor is defined for each set of Production Rules. As shown in box 235, the polynomial processor of each subsystem is expressed in the form of a polynomial expansion.

Next, in box 237 each polynomial processor is trained to learn the set of Production Rules associated with its respective subsystem. This includes the steps of computing the weights of each polynomial processor for its given input and output variables.

Finally, in box 239 at least one Output is computed from each polynomial processor by substituting at least one Input into the corresponding polynomial expansion. The Output may be either an exact value or an interpolated value.

Conclusion

Thus there has been disclosed an expert system incorporating at least one polynomial processor. The resulting expert system is extremely robust and fast, and it can be used in many time-critical and non-time-critical applications. The methods and systems described herein could be implemented as a series of operational steps, described herein, running on a programmed computer. Further, the method of the present invention, in the form of these particular operational steps, is well suited for storage on a tangible storage medium for use and operation with a programmed computer.

It will be understood that the polynomial processors disclosed and described herein may be implemented either in software or hardware.

Furthermore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed invention may be modified in numerous ways and may assume many embodiments other than the preferred form specifically set out and described above.

Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all modifications of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for learning production rules of an expert system comprising the steps of:(a) defining a plurality of inputs and outputs for said expert system; (b) defining at least one group of production rules by relating, for said at least one group, one of said outputs to one or more of said inputs in a certain manner; (c) defining a polynomial processor, for said at least one group of production rules, comprising a plurality of computing elements; and (d) computing the weights of the polynomial processor.
 2. The method recited in claim 1 and further comprising the steps of:(e) expressing said polynomial processor by a polynomial expansion; and (f) computing at least one output from the polynomial processor by substituting at least one of said inputs into the polynomial expansion.
 3. The method recited in claim 1, wherein said output is an interpolated value.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) further comprises the substep of normalizing said inputs.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming the inputs into values between -1 and +1.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming the inputs into absolute values between 0 and
 1. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein in step (a) each input may be classified into any one of a number of N possible values, N being a positive integer.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) further comprises the substep of normalizing at least one of the outputs.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said at least one output into a value between -1 and +1.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said at least one output into an absolute value between 0 and
 1. 11. A method for structuring an expert system with a plurality of polynomial processors comprising the steps of:(a) defining a plurality of subsystems for a problem, each subsystem having at least one input and at least one output; (b) defining a group of production rules for each of said subsystems by relating said at least one output to said at least one input in a certain manner; (c) linking said subsystems together into said expert system; (d) defining said plurality of polynomial processors, one for each group of production rules, each of said polynomial processors comprising a plurality of computing elements; and (e) computing the weights of said polynomial processors.
 12. The method recited in claim 11 and further comprising the steps of:(f) expressing each of said polynomial processors by a polynomial expansion; and (g) computing at least one output from each polynomial processor by substituting said at least one input into the corresponding polynomial expansion.
 13. The method recited in claim 12, wherein said at least one output is an interpolated value.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein step (a) further comprises the substep of normalizing said at least one input.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said at least one input into a value between -1 and +1.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said at least one input into an absolute value between 0 and
 1. 17. The method of claim 11, wherein in step (a) said at least one input may be classified into any one of a number of N values, N being a positive integer.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein step (a) further comprises the substep of normalizing said at least one output.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said at least one output into a value between -1 and +1.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said at least one output into an absolute value between 0 and
 1. 21. A method for structuring an expert system with a plurality of polynomial processors comprising the steps of:(a) defining a plurality of subsystems for a problem, each subsystem having at least one input and at least one output; (b) defining a table for each of said subsystems, said table comprising at least one entry relating said at least one output to said at least one input in a certain manner; (c) linking said subsystems together into said expert system; (d) defining said plurality of polynomial processors, one for each table, each of said polynomial processors comprising a plurality of computing elements; and (e) computing the weights of said polynomial processors.
 22. The method recited in claim 21 and further comprising the steps of:(f) expressing each of said tables by a polynomial expansion; and (g) computing at least one output from each polynomial processor by substituting said at least one input into the corresponding polynomial expansion.
 23. The method recited in claim 22, wherein said at least one output is an interpolated value.
 24. The method of claim 21, wherein step (a) further comprises the substep of normalizing said at least one input.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said at least one input into values between -1 and +1.
 26. The method of claim 24, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said at least one input into absolute values between 0 and
 1. 27. The method of claim 21, wherein in step (a) said at least one input may be classified into any one of a number of N values, N being a positive integer.
 28. The method of claim 21, wherein step (a) further comprises the substep of normalizing said at least one output.
 29. The method of claim 28, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said at least one output into a value between -1 and +1.
 30. The method of claim 28, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said at least one output into an absolute value between 0 and
 1. 31. A method for structuring and utilizing an expert system incorporating a plurality of polynomial processors comprising the steps of:(a) defining a plurality of subsystems for a problem, each subsystem having at least one input and at least one output; (b) defining a group of production rules for each of said subsystems by relating said at least one output to said at least one input in a certain manner; (c) linking said subsystems together into said expert system; (d) defining said plurality of polynomial processors, one for each group of production rules, each of said polynomial processors comprising a plurality of computing elements; (e) computing the weights of said polynomial processors; (f) providing a set of input values to at least one of said polynomial processors; and (g) said at least one polynomial processor calculating an output value for said set of input values.
 32. The method recited in claim 31, wherein said at least one output value is an interpolated output value.
 33. The method of claim 31, wherein step (f) further comprises the substep of normalizing said input values.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said inputs into values between -1 and +1.
 35. The method of claim 33, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said inputs into absolute values between 0 and
 1. 36. The method of claim 31, wherein in step (a) said at least one input may be classified into any one of a number of N values, N being a positive integer.
 37. The method of claim 31, wherein step (a) further comprises the substep of normalizing said at least one output.
 38. The method of claim 37, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said at least one output into a value between -1 and +1.
 39. The method of claim 37, wherein said normalizing substep is performed by transforming said at least one output into an absolute value between 0 and
 1. 